Merry-go-round.



No. 654,!54. Patented July 24, I900 J. W. HILE.

MEBRY-G0-ROUND.

(Application-filed Feb. 10, 1900.\

(No Model.)

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sure STATES JOHN W. HILE, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.-

MERRY-GiO-ROUND.

SPECIFiCATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 654,154, dated July 24,19CO. Application filed February 10, 1990. Serial No. 4,731. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN WV. HILE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Kansas City, in the county of Vtyandotte and State ofKansas, have invented a new and useful Merry- Go-Round, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to nierry-go-rounds, and more particularly to whatmay be termed domestic carousels -viz. that class adapted to be operatedby a person in one of. the chairs or carriages-my primary object in thisconnection being to provide a foot-power machine as an improvement overthe hand-power machine on which Patent No. 639,386 was issued to meDecember 19, 1899.

A further objectis to provide a chair or carriage adjustable bothvertically and horizontally, so that persons of different sizes may beconveniently accommodated therein.

Other objects of the invention will be pointed out in the appendedclaims, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to behad to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspectiveview of a merrygo-round or carousel embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is adetail side view of the adjustable chair or carriage provided withfootpower mechanism. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section of the upperbearing for the shaft connected to the foot-power shaft and the tubeconnecting said bearing rigidly with the frame forming the lower bearingof said shaft.

Fig. 4 is a View, partly in front elevation and partly in verticalsection, of the frame forming the lower bearing of said shaft and of theshaft connecting the pedal-shaft with the upper bearing. Fig. 5 is a topplan view of the bearing shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a modified form ofhook whereby the adjustment of the chair or carriage is effected.

Corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings aredesignated by like characters of reference.

cated at the point of intersection of the crossed beams is astep-bracket 2, in which is seated an upright mast 3, and the latter isbraced by means of a series of inclined braces 4, which rest upon therespective cross-beams. Extending radially from the upper end of themast 3 is a plurality of radial arms 5, which have their inner endsseated in a box 6, and

the arrangement, is a topmast 7, having a central'pin 8 at its upperend, upon which is swiveled the perforated plate 9, said plate beingconnected by the inclined tie-rods 10, radiating therefrom to theeyebolts 11,-secured .to the radial arms 5 near'theirouter ends, (seeFig. 1,) the arrangement being such that said arms, plate, andconnecting brace-rods revolve together. Pendent from'the opposite endsof one of the arms 5 are vertical rods 12, secured, preferably, by taps13 at their upper ends and terminating in hooks 14 at their lower ends,which engage one set or another of the perforations 16 in the segmentalbars 15, secured to opposite sides of carriages 17, each carriage beingin the form of a short hammock, with its body of canvas or equivalentmaterial, in order that when adjusted to the tilted position (shown inFig. 1) it will sag and form a convenient and accommodating seat for theperson therein, as will be readily understood. A pair of eyebolts 18 arependently secured from and near one end of the other arm 5 by taps 19,and hooked reliably to said eyebolts are the pendent bars 20, carrying aseat 21 of any desired capacity. Secured upon the opposite end of saidarm by means of the transverse bolts 22 are rectangular sleeves 23,provided with pendent bosses 24, in which are screwed the upper ends ofpipes 25. Said pipes may be bent at their lower ends to form the arms 27or may be connected to said arms by elbows 26, as shown, and said arms27 project forward and have their front ends connected by the elbows 28to the upright portions of the angle-arms 29,the-forwardly projectingportions of said arms being connected by elbows 30 to the horizontalpipe 31, and in order that this frame may be perfectly stiff and rigidangle-arms 29 are also connected and braced by the foot-bars 32,

upon which the op erators foot may rest when not engaged in propellingthe machine, as hereinafter explained. y

33 designates a chair of any suitable style and provided at each sidewith the upwardlyprojecting bars .34, said bars being each formed with apair of hook-terminals 35. The lower hook-terminals of said bars areadapted to hook over the arms 27 of the rigid frame above described whena tall person occupies the chair in order to maintain the chair in aposition most remote from the foot-bar 32 and the pedals, to behereinafter described. When a short person or child occupies this seat,the upper hook-terminals 35 are adapted to engage said arms 27 to causethe seat to approach nearer to the foot-bar 33 and the pedal mechanismtoaccommodate the shorter limbs of the occupant.

The elbows 26 of pipes of the frame obviously limit the adjustablemovement of the chair rearward from the foot-bar, while the elbows 28form a stop or shoulder to limit the forward movement of said chair uponsaid pipe, as shown clearly in Fig. 2, where the chair occupies its mostadvanced position in dotted lines. To hold the chair more reliably uponsaid frame and to prevent it from in the direction of the center of pipe31.

tilting and from backward movement, the horizontal forwardly-projectingbars 36 are secured to its sides and are provided, like bars 34,'with apair of hook-terminals 37. \Vhen the front or outer hook-terminalsengage the vertical portions of angle-arms 29, the chair occupies itsmost remote position from the foot-bar 32 as far as adjustment in ahorizontal plane is concerned, and therefore accommodates the largerclass of occupants. WVhen the rear or inner hooks engage said arms, thechair occupies its most advanced position, and assuming that the upperhook-terminals 35 at the same time engage arms 27 (see dotted lines,Fig. 2) it will be obvious that the chair is adjusted to accommodate thesmaller class of occupants. In lieu of these double hook-terminal bars34 and 36 I also employ adjustable books 27, (see Fig. 6,) these hooksbeing provided with longitudinal slots 27 through which theclamping-bolts 27 (see Figs. 1 and 2) will extend into thechair to clampthe hooks at the desired point of adjustment.

38 designates a bearing-sleeve arranged at one side of arm 5 centrallyof and above the chair 33 and extending downward and forward See Fig. 1most clearly.) Said sleeve in orde r to be secured to said arm rigidlyand reliably is provided with the laterally-projecting lug 38, bearingagainst the contiguous side of the arm, and the rearwardly-projectingparallel lugs 39, embracing the upper and lower sides of the bar, saidlugs 38 and 39 being secured reliably by means of the bolts 40,extending through the bar at right angles to each other.

(See- Fig. 5.) 4O designates a tube screwed at its upper end intobearing 38 and at its lower end into a threaded boss 41, projecting fromthe pedal-shaft arm 42, and said arm is supported reliably and rigidlyinposition with the assistance of said tube and bearing 38 by means of theshort pipe 43, screwed at its upper end into the depending boss 44 ofsaid frame and at its lower end into the inverted- T coupling 45 uponpipe 31, which pipe obviously may be made in sections connected bysaid'coupling. Arranged horizontally of and extending through andjournaled in bosses 46 at the ends of said frameis a pedal crankshaft47, carrying pedals 48 of any preferred construction, which pedals areobviously within convenient reach of the occupant of chair 33. Thepedal-shaft is prevented from moving longitudinally by the collar 49 atthe inner side of the frame near one end and by a bevel-pinion 50 nearthe opposite end of the frame, said pinion meshing with a largebevel-wheel 51 upon the lower end of shaft 52, extending through tube40" and journaled at its opposite ends in the boss 41 of said frame andin the bearing 38. (See Figs. 3 and 4.) Upon the upper end of said shaftis a gear-wheel 53, preferably in the form of a grooved belt-wheel, andan endless belt or cable 54 connects said wheel with the largegroove-wheel 55, which is fixed or stationary, just as the correspondingwheel 23 of my previous patent.

A device for tensioniug the belt or cable consists of the idler 56,mounted upon the slotted arm 57, ad justably mounted upon the setscrew58, and adapted to be secured by the latter at the desired point in theusual manner. If desired, the grooved wheels 53 and and belt 54 may bereplaced by sprocketwheels and chain; but such change, of course, wouldnot involve invention, and, furthermore, is shown in my aforesaidpatent.

In practice assuming that the parts areas shown in Fig. 1, the occupantof chair 33 places his feet upon the pedals and revolves thecrank-shaft,which through the medium of the gearing described causesradial arms 5 and their connected parts to travel around with the centerof wheel 55 as the axis of revolution, said wheel traveling upon thetrack formed by the endless belt or cable, or, in other words, forming afulcrum for said belt or cable to cause the same through the medium ofwheel 53 to elfect a lateral pull upon the contiguous end of the arm,forming the support for said wheel,and thereby cause said arms torevolve, as and in the manner clearly explained in the patent to whichfrequent reference. has been made. As in said patent, the chair orcarriage diametrically opposite the chair in which the operator isseated may be of double capacity, so as to compensate for the weight ofthe mechanism at the opposite side and insure a perfect balance.

From the above description it will be apparent that I have produced amerry-go-round or carousel embodying the features of advantageenumerated as desirable in the state ment of invention and which may beoperated with much greater convenience and ease than the constructionembodied in the patcut over which this is designed particularly as animprovement. It is to be understood also that such changes as do notinvolve a departure from the spirit and scope of the appended claims'Ireserve the right to make.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure byLetters Patent, is

1. In a merry-go-round, the combination with a rotatable frame, of aframe depending rigidly therefrom, and embodyingsubstantially-horizontal arms, and su bstantially-vertical arms, drivingmechanism carried by said depending frame and geared to the rotatablefra1ne,pedals for operating said driving mechanism, and a chair orcarriage provided with vertical hooks engaging saidsubstantiallyhorizontal arms, and horizontal hooks for engagement withsaid substantially vertical arms, substantially as described.

2. In a merry-go-round the combination with a rotatable frame, of aframe depending therefrom and embodying parallelapproximately-horizontal side arms, and a chairprovided withsubstantially vertical side bars, each provided with a plurality ofhooks occupying different vertical planes, and adapted to engage saidside arms, substantially as described.

3. In a merry-go-round, the combination with a rotatable frame, of aframe depending therefrom and embodying parallelapproximately-horizontal side arms, angle-arms cou pled to and dependingfrom the front ends of said side arms, and a chair provided withsubstantially-vertical side bars having hooks engaging said side armsand adjustable forwardly until the most advanced hooks abut against saidcouplings, and with forwardlyprojecting bars hooked to the uprightportions of said angle-arms, substantially as described.

4. In a merry-go-round, the combination with a rotatable frame, of aframe depending therefrom and embodying parallelapproximately-horizontal side arms, angle arms coupled to and dependingfrom the front ends of said side arms, and a chair provided withsubstantially-vertical side bars, having hooks engaging said side armsand adjustable forwardly until the most advanced hooks abut against saidcouplings, and provided with forwardly-projecting bars having aplurality of hooks one set or the other of which is adapted to engagetheupright portions of said angle-arms, substantially as described.

5. In a merry-go-round, the combinationof a rotatable chair orcarriage-carrying frame, a frame rigidly carried by and depending fromsaid rotatable frame, a bearing-frame secured to the lower front end ofsaid rigid frame, a bearing secured to the rotatable frame above saidbearing-frame, an inclined tube rigidly connecting said bearing andbearing-frame, a shaft extending through said tube and journaled in saidbearing and bearing-frame, and provided at its upper end with a wheel,and at its lower end within the bearing-frame with a bevel gear-wheel, apedal crank-shaft journaled in said bearingframe, a bevel gear-pinionmounted thereon and meshing with said bevel gear-wheel, a wheel mountedrigidly with its axis coinciding with that of the rotatable frame, and atraveling belt connecting said wheel with the wheel upon the upper endof the shaft extending through the inclined tube, substantially as andfor the purpose described.

6. In a merry-go-round, the combination with a rotatable frame, chairsor carriages suspended therefrom, a frame rigidly carried by anddepending from said rotatable frame, and embodyingsubstantially-horizontal side arms, afoot-bar below and forward of theside arms, a chair adjustable upon said side arms toward or from saidfoot-bar, a bearingframe secured to the lower front end of said rigidframe, a bearing secured to the rotatable frame above saidbearing-frame, an inclined tube rigidly connecting said bearing andbearing-frame,a shaft extending through 'said tube and journaled in saidbearing and bearing-frame, and provided at its upper end with a wheel,and at its lower end within the bearing-frame with a bevel gear-wheel, apedal crank-shaft j ournaled in said bearingframe, a bevel gear-pinionmounted thereon and meshing with said bevel gear-wheel, a wheel mountedrigidly with its axis coinciding with that. of the rotatable frame, anda traveling belt connecting said wheel with the wheel upon the upper endof the shaft extending through the inclined tube, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of twoWitnesses.

JOHN W. HILE.

Witnesses:

H. O. RODGERS, G. Y. THORPE.

